Addis Ababa, November 19, 2015 (FBC) – The new Ethio-Djibouti railway line is going to transport wheat from Port Djibouti to Adama town as of tomorrow.Additional wheat, which the government of Ethiopia had bought for people affected by the El Nino-driven drought, has reached at Port Djibouti. The Ethio-Djibouti railway project, linking Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti, is being built in two sections in Ethiopia - the first segment extends from Sebeta–Meiso, while the second one extends from Meiso-Dewele.Some 93.5 per cent of the project (both Sebeta–Meiso and Meiso-Dewele) has been completed, according to the Ethiopian Railways Corporation.The Dewele-Negad section in Djibouti, which is also part of the railway route, has now achieved 91 percent completion status, including a 50 per cent accomplishment of installation of power cable. Only five months are left for the railway line to go fully operational, it was noted.However, the railway line will begin carrying the wheat procured to avert the drought from Port Djibouti beginning tomorrow.The trains, capable of carrying 3,500 tons of wheat in one journey, will use diesel fuel as installation of power cable is not yet completed, it was noted.Dr. Engineer Getachew Betru, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Railways Corporation, said the trains can carry all the wheat from the port within ten days.According to the CEO, more than 1 million tons of food aid is arriving at the port of Djibouti and the trains will be used to transport it to Adama town.The 9th Ethio-Djibouti Railway project joint ministerial commission meeting was held today. During the meeting, progress of the project was evaluated, it was noted.The 656-km Ethio-Djibouti railway line is being built at a total cost of 3.4 billion US dollars. Once completed, the railway line will add momentum to Ethiopia’s economy by reducing transportation cost and travel time to port Djibouti.Translated and posted by Amare Asrat

Ethiopia’s economic growth is likely to continue on a positive trajectory. Significant foreign investment is flooding into the country, yet political dynamics pose reputational risks for investors. Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was re-elected at the beginning of October, continuing his leadership from 2012. In May of this year, the ruling party, The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), won a landslide victory in the elections, claiming every parliamentary seat and consolidating their grip on power. At the top of the PM’s priority list is the implementation of the five-year Growth and Transformation Plan II (GTP II). The ultimate aim of the plan is to catapult Ethiopia into middle-income status by 2025 through transforming it into an industrialised economy, offering a fully integrated supply chain.

Three of East Africa’s Presidents, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta have visited Ethiopia’s Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), a place regarded as the country’s ‘centre of dynamism.’ Metec is not only a statement but also a testimony that industrializing Africa is possible; it’s something that Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense officials honoured in an inscription on a glass plaque left behind after a recent visit. Located some 45km South-East of the capital Addis Ababa, Bishoftu Automotive Industry (BAI), one of the fifteen industries that make up Metec, is involved in designing, engineering and assembling various types of autos, for mainly, the home market. In total, Metec’s fifteen workshops directly employ between 13,000 and 15,000 Ethiopians with 3,000 of those at Bishoftu and 40 percent of them girls who take on an unusual role; with their long hair rolled up in smart ponytails, they bend down to work and disappear in a world unfamiliar to most East African girls their age.

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) has announced that the construction of US$ 230m high voltage direct current Kenya-Ethiopia converter substation is now set to begin. Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) has announced that the construction of US$ 230m high voltage direct current Kenya-Ethiopia converter substation is now set to begin. A US$ 230m contract between KETRACO and a consortium of Siemens AG and Isolux Inginieria for the construction of the sub-station has already been signed. The project which will be constructed in Suswa is intended to create power lines that will link Kenya to Ethiopia. It is being funded by the World Bank and is considered as an important interconnector between the two countries. Ketraco acting Managing Director Fernandes Barasa confirmed the reports and said that the transmission line contractors are already mobilized and are expected to commence construction soon and will be completed in 2017.

(CNN)For young people there is no limit, and in Addis Ababa dreams fly about classrooms with as much abandon as anywhere else in the world.Seventeen year-old Meron Mekonnen wants to be a particle physicist. Demekel Demto a rocket scientist. Dagem Teresse is interested in inventing things and wants to become a robotics engineer.Mekonnen is quick to note that Einstein was young when he published his Theory of Relativity, a 26 year-old university student. A single equation of his "changed the history of science," she points out: "I have plenty of thoughts..."